The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois
Baseball Falls to Northern Illinois in Series Finale
April 01 | Baseball
DeKALB, Ill. – The University of Akron baseball team fell to Northern Illinois, 8-2, in Sunday's series finale at McKinzie Field.
The loss moves Akron's record to 10-17 overall and 3-3 in Mid-American Conference play. The Huskies improve to 8-20 and 2-4 in the league.
"It was disappointing to see how flat we were today, especially offensively," Akron coach Rick Rembielak said. "We are continuing to work on being stronger when we step into the box. We need to trust our skills each time up and in any adverse situation."
Redshirt freshmen Devan Ahart and Joey Havrilak led Akron with two hits each. Senior Alex Loftin (1-1) took the loss after allowing seven runs – five earned – in 4.1 innings.
Troy White had a pair of hits and hit a three-run home run to lead NIU. Alex Jones also had a pair of hits and drove in two. Jake Hermsen (2-2) went eight-plus innings and allowed just two runs on six hits to pick up the win. Both Akron runs came in the top of the ninth.
After 3.5 scoreless innings, NIU plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth. White had the big at-bat of the inning, hitting his second homer of the season to right center. Alex Klonowski also drove in a run when he singled through the left side.
The Huskies added three more in the bottom of the fifth. Two errors by the Akron outfield helped the inning along, while Huffman and Zimmerman both had run-scoring singles. Alex Jones's RBI single to center in the sixth gave NIU an 8-0 lead.
Akron broke up the shutout with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth. Sam Watkins singled to start the inning and then scored on Tyler Begun's third triple of the season. The hit extended Begun's hit streak to 12 games, and the sophomore has now reached safely in 23 straight contests. Havrilak then drove in Begun with a single to center.
"The coaching staff will continue to find ways to make our guys become more consistent," Rembielak said.
Akron does not have any midweek contests scheduled for the upcoming week. The Zips will welcome Bowling Green to Canal Park next weekend for a three-game MAC series. Friday's first game begins at 3 p.m. EDT.
